Apparatus for distributing energy.



Patented Mar. 20, I900.

G. WESTINGHOUSE. APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING ENERGY (Application filedNov. 13, 1899.)

(No Mode l.)

2 Shasta-Sheet l.

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Patented Mar. 20, I900. a. WESTINGHOUSE. APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTINGENERGY.

(Application filed Nov. 13,1899.)

2 Shanty-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

THE Norms PETERS co. FHOTO-LJTHO., WASNINGTON, v.1

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING ENERGY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 645,613, dated March20, 1900.

Application filed November 13, 1899. Serial No. 736,768. (No model.)

I for the Distribution of Energy, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to apparatus for the economical generation anddistribution of electrical energy, heat, and power peculiarly adaptedfor use in the operation of railways and other extended systems for thedistribution of power, heat, and light.

Heretofore it has been customary in supplying electricity to electricrailways and other systems operating over considerable distances tolocate at some convenient point or points one or more power-houseswherein are established boilers, engines, and electric generators fromwhich are led electric conductors to different points along the line orsystem and by means of these to feed either directly or through suitablepotential regulating devices into the operating-circuits. The capitalrequired to install the apparatus for a system of distribution of thekind above described is great, and the cost of the generation ofelectricity due to the continuous operation "of practically the entiregenerating plant for the purpose of keeping the working circuit at alltimes supplied with current is, without taking into consideration thecapital invested, when trains or cars are infrequently run or when thereis a widely-varying demand for current so excessive as to practicallyprohibit the use of electricity for the propulsion of railway-trains andvehicles or to greatly decrease the returns on the capitalinvested forgeneral heat, light, and power distribution. Especially in operatinglong-distance highspeed railways there are during the day considerableintervals of time elapsing between the passage of successive trains, andwhen the entire electric circuit is constantly charged from a centralpower-station there is the consequent large loss of energy due toleakages throughout the'system and to the resistance which the mainelectric conductors offer to the flow of the large quantities of currentrequired. If, however, current were supplied to different portions ofthe main and working circuits during only the times when they are calledupon to deliver current, a very large saving in the power to develop therequired electrical energy would be effected and largely because of thewell-established fact that the consumption of fuel by an en ginerunningat its normal speed, but without a load, is from thirty to fortyper cent. as great as when the engine is operated at full load.

In those cases where steam is used as the motive force the boilers andengines with the required generators must be arranged within a suitablepower-building with the shortest possible distance intervening betweenthe boilers and engines to avoid loss by radiation, and, further, owingto the necessity for always keeping spare engines Well heated and someof them even in motion and the boilers well fired and ready for anysudden demand for extra or extraordinary service, it is the practice andseems to be desirable for the economical generation of electricity toolepend upon one comprehensive power-station rather than upon severalsmaller ones. From the nature of the service required of one large orseveral small electric generating plants it is evident that if trainswere passing over the line only at intervals of, say from twenty minutesto an hour it would be impracticable to start and stop the engines andgenerators with sufficient facility to effect any material saving in thecost of fuel, since the boilers would, as above stated, have to be keptin condition to instantly deliver the maximum power required. When gaspower is used, however, the gas-producing plant may be located at themost convenient point with reference to an economical supply of fuel andwater, while the gas-engines and the electric generators. may and shouldbe located in substations along the line of a railway with specialreference to the least cost and loss in the transmission of the currentfrom the generators to the working circuits, To most effectively providefor the supply of current to the working circuit during only the timewhen the current is required, the working circuit may be subdivided, sothat each subdivision receives its supply from its substation and bysuitable arrangements in case of need from either or both of theadjacent substations, so that any one subdivision may receive thecombined effort of the engines and generators of three substations. Thereadiness and economy with which gasengines as now constructed lendthemselves to quick starting, it taking less than a minu'te, coupledwith the fact that the shutting off of the gas instantly stops waste offuel, render them especially suited to the purposes of my invention, andI therefore propose instead of boilers, steam-engines, and electricgenerators all located at one station with the costly system of electricdistribution involved to use a gas-producing plant and pipe distributiontherefor and gas-engines and electric generators at properly-locatedsubstations, with the consequent comparativelysimple electrical system,thus realizing the advantages herein mentioned. In the case of anelectric railway the gas is conveyed from the gas-producing plantthrough suitable main pipes extending along the lines of railway, withbranches to supply each of the substations, and such gas can be used notonly to drive ordinary gas-engines, but also for various other purposes,including the heating of stations and other buildings. The gaspipe lineshould preferably be of wroughtiron with screwedjoints and capable ofstanding high pressure without leakage. At the gas-generating station asuitable compressor may be employed to store gas within the pipeline,which would serve not only to convey the gas, but also to serve as astorage-reservoir. Between the main gas-pipe and each gas-engine thereare placed the usual and well-known suitable valves and regulatingdevices for the purpose of delivering the necessary gas to the engine atthe required pressure. It is desirable to use gas-engines having two ormore cylinders, one of which may be conveniently operated by compressedair for the purpose of starting the engine, and each substation shouldtherefore be provided with a suitable air compressor and reservoirwithin which to store a sufiicient amount of compressed air to insurethe quick starting of one or all of the engines in such substations.Such compressor can be driven by an independent engine or motor, or itcan be driven by the main engine through any suitable connection. WhileI prefer to use what is known as a gas-engine, yet any other form ofinternal-combustion engine may be employed, and although I prefer to usecompressed air to quickly start such engine any of the other well-knownmeans may be utilized.

In those cases where there may be great and sudden fluctuations in theuse of electricity it may be economical to use storage batteries at thesubstations, so that the stored electric energy may be combined with theelectricity produced by the engine and generator.

My invention is not limited in its application toelectriaraili ays, butit may be effectively utilized in a system for the general distributionof electric energy by locating gasengine substations at points more orless distant from the main generating-station and where the delivery ofcurrent to a general system of distribution will be most needed when thedemands are the greatest. In such an arrangement the main stat-ion maybe conveniently operated with an almost even load during the twenty-fourhours of each day, leaving the excess demand and the peak of the load tobe cared for by the gas-engine plant; and it is within the scope of myinvention to provide for the automatic starting and stoppingvof one ormore gas-engines in any substation by means of electrically-operated airand gas valve mechanisms,which can be brought into service by electriccircuits established between the main and substations and by any of thewell-known means.

The advantages which I secure by the use of my invention are many, amongwhich may be cited the following: Engines can be oper ated by means ofgas generated from about one-half of the amount of coal required forsteam-engines; it costs less to lay pipes to transmit power as proposedthan to establish a high-tension alternatingcurrent transmission system;the gas system of distribution is less complicated; the cost to transmita given power is less, and the risk to derangement greatly less thanwith the high-tension alternating current system operated bysteam-power; and, further, there is always available a source of powerand heat for a multitude of purposes not most advantageously secureddirectly from the electric current.

There are many possible modifications in the general organization of thesystem I have described and in the exact form of apparatus and detailswhich I have illustrated in the drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a diagramrepresenting the general organization of the apparatus for supplying anelectric-railway system, and Fig. 2 illustrates a detail.

Referring to the drawings,- A A A represent substations located alongthe line of an electric railway. In this instance the supplyconductor,which may be either an overhead trolley-wire or underground wire orother suitable conductor, is shown as being subdivided into sections a aa 0, The sections may, however,be connected together by means ofswitches or circuit-closers b, if desired.

At A there is represented a gas-generator plant comprising the usualapparatus for producing gas which is delivered into a reservoir B. Agas-compressoris indicated at O,which may be operated by a gas-engine D,and the compressor is shown as delivering gas into a pipe-line E, whichextends through the Various substations A A A It is understood that thegas-generating plant is located at some point convenient for coal andwater supplies, and if it is near the electric railway it may also beequipped with an electric genererating plant similar to those describedin connection with substations. At substation A there is shown a gasholder or reservoir B supplied from the main pipeline E. The gas-engineD here shown is a two-cylinder engine, although engines having a greaternumber of cylinders may be employed. The gas for operating the enginemay be delivered through a pressure reducer or regulator F from thegas-reservoir 13 An air-compressor L may be operated by the engine or bya small motor 01 for delivering compressed air into a tank H which isprovided with suitable pipes h for starting the engine. The electricgenerator G may be directly connected with the engine D or driventhereby through a belt in any suitable manner. The conductors 2 2 leadfrom the terminals of the generator to the section a of the supply-wireand with the return-conductor, which is here shown as being the rails ofthe track.

For the purpose of enabling the operator at the station A to be informedas to when it will be necessary to start, as well as to stop, thegenerator signaling devices M and N are located at some convenient pointin the station, and these are respectively connected with signalingactuating devices M n at suitable distances beyond the respective endsof the section to be supplied by that generator. By means of thesedevices the operator is advised of the approach as well as the departureof trains. In the drawings I have shown short insulated contactsconstituting terminals of the circuit of corresponding batteries j and70. As the train passes over these contacts the circuit of thecorresponding battery is closed by means of a suitable bridge'piece orin any other suitable manner. The corresponding communication is thusgiven to the operator. The signaling-contacts are located at suchdistances from the section that an approaching train will give thesignal a sufficient time in advance of the arrival of the train upon thesection to be supplied to permit the operator to start his engine, andthus generate the necessary currentto supply that section. The generatormay also be used to charge a storage battery P which, if occasion shoulddemand, may be coupled into circuit with the generator by a switch p forthe purpose of adding to the supply of current, particularly when thedemand for current is greater than can be readily supplied by thegenerator.

The pipe-line E is shown at station A as supplying a gas-holder B fromwhich gas is supplied to the engine D through suitable pipe W. Agas-regulator F of any suitable well-known form, may be employed forinsuring that the gas be fed to the engine at the proper pressure. Theelectric generator Gr may be directly connected with the shaft of theengine or driven in any other suitable manner thereby. V

For the purpose of shutting off the supply of gas delivered tothe holderB when it is filled any usual well-known device may be employedsuch, forinstance, as a cut-off V, interposed in the pipe leading thereto andoperated by a lever V, the position of which is controlled by anexpansion device V operating to raise the lever when the pressure in thegas-holder exceeds a predetermined limit,

(these parts being shown in dotted lines,) or

the cut-01f may be effected, by means of alink connection V between themovable portion of the gas-holder and a stop-cock V in the gas-supplypipe. When the movable portion of the gas-holder has risen to a certainheight, it will operate through the connection V to close the pipe.

At stations A and A there are provided similar organizations ofgas-engine, generator, air-compressor, air-reservoir, indicating device,and storage battery, like devices being indicated by like letters ofreference, with the numeral 1 or 3 affixed, as the case may be. At thestation A there is shown in lieu of a gas-holder an enlarged section Bof the main supply-pipe, and the gas for the engine is taken directlyfrom the pipe-line through a suitable pressure-reducing device F Whendesired, current may be supplied from any generator to either or both ofits neighboring sections-as, for instance, to the section A by thegenerator at A in greater or less quantities, as desired, by closing theswitch I), and thus connecting the two sections together, and in generaleither generator may be employed for aiding the neighboring generatorsupon either or both sides. 'Such connections between adjacent sectionsmay be made and interruptedautomatically by switches q, operated byelectromagnets g (1 interposed in a branch circuit of the correspondingbattery j ork. Any suitable form of electropneumatic device Q may beconven iently employed for operating these switches. In the drawings 1have indicated a pistoncylinder 1 containing a piston (1 which is'forced in one direction or the other, according to the position of aslide-valve Q5, controlling the ports q g The position of the valve iscontrolled by the armatures of the coils q The shaft g of the piston gis coupled with the switch q in such manner as to close the switch whencurrent flows through the coil (1 and to open it when flowing throughthe coil (1. The compressed air for operating the switches Q is derivedfrom the reservoirs H or other suitable source. The sections may at anytime be connected manually by the switches 19 independently of theswitches g.

In some cases it may be desirable that the engine should beautomatically started or stopped or both started and stopped withoutnecessitating the presence of an attendant. This may be accomplished byany suitable automatic devices-as, for instance, there may be insertedin corresponding branches of the signaling-circuits electromagneticdevices R,which when operated by an approaching train will set inoperation the gas-engine, and thus cause the generator to supply currentto the circuit, The gas-engine will then continue to run until the trainreaches the succeeding signaling-circuit, through which it will closethe circuit necessary for shutting off the gas from the engine. In thedrawings the controlling device It is shown as provided with twoactuating-coils r and s, respectively, connected to have their circuitsclosed when the cars pass over the corresponding circuit, closing pointsm m and 092 and 42, 02 and n to open and to close the gas-supply pipes.The operation of opening the gas-supply pipe to the engine may alsoserve to open the airpipe r to admit the compressed air to the enginefor starting it. The connections of the air-pipe are again automaticallyclosed when the engine has been started in any well-known manner, andthe details of the construction of such devices are not here shown,being well known in the art.

Where two or more sections are to be supplied con j ointly fromneighboring generators, by closing the switches Z) am meters 25 andVoltmeters '6 may be connected with the circuits to give indications atthe substations of the condition of the circuit, so that the attendantsmay know when the demand is such as to require additional current to besupplied from their generators.

In the drawings I have indicated only one generator at each substation.It is evident that two or more may be employed, if desired. In somecases it may be desirable to keep one generator always in operation,supplying current to neighboring portions of the line, and to start theadditional generators as the load upon corresponding portions of theline is increased.

The application of the invention is not limited to electric-railwayservice, but is also useful in connection with electric lighting andpower systems extending over wide areas,and it will be understood thatthe railway-circuits indicated at Fig. 1 may be replaced by electriclighting or power service of any character, and the indicating deviceswill serve to show when it is necessary to increase or decrease thenumber of generators supplying current to the different sections. Ifdesired, special indicating-circuits may extend from one central stationto all substations, and pressure-indicating circuits may extend from thedifferent sections back to the central station.

The gas in the pipe -line E is advantageously transmitted at highpressure, by which I mean at a pressure much greater than thatordinarily safely possible to be maintained in gas-holders. This permitsof the economical transmission of large amounts of gas over longdistances. The gas thus transmitted may be distributed and utilized ingreater or less quantities not only for operating the gas-engines, butalso for lighting and heating, and I have indicated branch pipes E,designed to supply such purposes. The compressed air may also beutilized for additional purposes, and branch pipes 71 are shown asleading at the stations from the compressed-air pipe h. I have shown allthe compressed-air reservoirs as connected together by the pipe h; butit is evident that it is not necessary to so connect them. Each stationmay have its compressed-air equipment independent of the other stations,or one air-compressor may be utilized for sup plying all the stations,if so desired.

In extending systems it may be desirable to employ more than onegas-generating sta tion, in which cases stations similar to thatindicated at A are located at intervals along the line, and thus supplygas to the various substations as required. It is to be understood,however, that the gas-generating stations may or may not be suppliedwith an electric generator and its accompanying apparatus, according tothe circumstances of the case. I I

In another application, Serial No. 701,846, filed January 11, 1899, Ihave made claims to the method or process herein.

The invention claimed is 1. A combined gas and electric system ofdistribution for electric-railway service consisting of anelectric-supply conductor for the railway, a series of electricgenerators located at intervals along the line of said railway, agas-engine for driving each of said generators, a general gas-supplysystem for furnishing gas to all of said gas-engines, and indicating orsignaling devices for indicating at the respective generators, theapproach and departure of trains, upon the railway.

2. In a system of distribution, the combination at a substation, forsupplying electric energy to a portion of the system, of one or moreelectric generators, one or more gas-engines for driving the same,signaling-circuits extending from points upon the system in the vicinityof said substations for indicating at the substations when the demandfor current exceeds and when it falls below predetermined limits, andlocal storage batteries and compressed air reservoirs adapted to becharged by said generators.

3. In a system of distribution for electric railways, the combination ofa main gas-supply station and substations for generating electricity,one or more gas-engines at each substation and corresponding electricgenerators actuated thereby, a signaling device leading from a pointdistant from each of said stations for indicating at the respectivestations the approach of trains, a storage battery at each substation,means for charging the same from the corresponding electric generatorand for utilizing the current therefrom to assist the generator insupplying the electric circuit, and a gas-supply station for furnishinggas to all of said substations.

4. A system of electric distribution com- ICC IIC

prising an electricsupply circuit, one or more gas-generating stations,electric generatingstations at intervals along the line of distribution,gas-distributing pipes leading from said gas-generating stations to theelectric generating-stations, gas-engines and electric generators driventhereby at the electric generating stations, and circuit connectionstherefrom to the main electric circuit, and means for connecting saidgenerators with and disconnecting them from neighboring portions of themain electric circuit in accordance with the demand for current uponsuch port-ions of the circuit.

5. In a substation for electric distribution in a system comprising oneor more main gasgenerating stations and electric generating substations,the combination of one or more gas-engines, one or more electricgenerators operated thereby, an air-compressor, a compressed-airreservoir, and means for starting the gas-engines by means of airfromthe compressed-air reservoir.

6. In a substation for electric distribution in a system comprising oneor more main gasgenerating stations and electric generatingsubstations,the combination of one or more gas-engines, one or more electricgenerators operated thereby, an air-compressor, a compressed-airreservoir, means for starting the gas-engines by means of air from thecompressed-air reservoir, and means for operating the gas-engine afterit is started by means of gas supplied from the main gas-generatingstation.

7. The combination of a main gas-supply station, a divided electriccircuit, local electric generating-stations for supplying current to therespective divisions of the circuit, means for operating the severalgeneratingstations by energy supplied from said main gas-supply station,and means for connecting and disconnecting the several divisions of saidcircuit with and from each other.

8. The combination of a main gas-supply station, a divided electriccircuit, local generators for supplying electric current to therespective divisions of the circuit, local gasengines for operating therespective local generators, gas-supply pipes for supplying gas from thegas-generating station to the respective gas-engines, a source ofcompressed air for starting the respective gas-engines, and means forstarting the respective gas-engines through the instrumentality of airfrom said compressed-air source in advance of the demand for electricityfrom the corresponding electric generators.

9. In a system for the distribution of power, heat and light, thecombination of a gas-generating plant, a high-pressure gas-distributingsystem, local gas-engines and power-stations, electric generatorsoperated by such gas-engines, a circuit into which said gener atorsfeed, and indicating devices at the respective power-stations forshowing the condition of the circuit in the neighborhood thereof.

Signed at New York, in the county of'New' York and State of New York,this 10th day of November, A. D. 1899.

GEO. WESTINGHOUSE.

Witnesses: r

J. H. J ONES,

WM. H. OAP'En-

